Owens Invited to AFCA 35 Under 35 Institute

Dec. 4, 2017

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech football assistant coach Lamar Owens has been selected to participate in the 2018 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) 35 Under 35 Coaches’ Leadership Institute, the AFCA announced on Monday.

The AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches’ Leadership Institute was created to train premier future leadership in the football coaching profession. Owens was one of 35 coaches selected from 168 applicants for the program, which will take place on January 7, 2018 as part of the 2018 AFCA Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

Owens just wrapped up his 10th season overall at Georgia Tech and his eighth season as the Yellow Jackets’ A-backs coach. He added special teams coordinator to his responsibilities two seasons ago.

“I am so grateful to be recognized by the AFCA and selected for this prestigious honor,” Owens said. “I’m looking forward to joining a group of great coaches participating in the 35 Under 35 Coaches’ Leadership Institute next month.”

In seven of Owens’ eight seasons as A-backs coach, Georgia Tech’s slot backs have averaged better than eight yards per touch, including a whopping 11.4-yard average in 2016. This past season, AB Clinton Lynch, who still has a season of eligibility remaining, needed only 29 career games to become just the 47th player in school history to rush for 1,000 career yards.

As the Yellow Jackets’ special teams coordinator, Owens has directly overseen a punt unit that has improved from a No. 97 national ranking the year before he took over (35.8-yard net average) to 31st nationally in 2017 (39.7-yard net average).

A highly respected recruiter, he was primarily responsible for the recruitment of former Georgia Tech place kicker and Kansas City Chiefs rookie Harrison Butker, the school’s all-time leading scorer (337 career points) who recently broke the Chiefs’ record for consecutive field goals made (23).

“I’m really happy for Coach Owens. This is a well-deserved honor for him,” Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson said. “He is a terrific young coach and I am sure that he will represent our program and our staff well at the 35 Under 35 Institute.”